LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In its regular season opener, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team nearly flipped the outcome against North Alabama from last year's result. On Tuesday night, in similar circumstances, the Knights will look to seal the deal against Cedarville (Ohio) University.

Bellarmine (0-1) will welcome the Yellow Jackets (2-0) to Knights Hall for a 7 p.m. (ET) contest in nonconference play. The clash will mark BU's second straight at home to begin the 2014-15 season; however, the Knights won't return to their turf for game day again until Dec. 13.

Bellarmine nearly avenged last season's 82-62 loss to North Alabama on Saturday before the Knights were edged 80-78 on a basket with less than 5 seconds remaining. Cedarville was also one of BU's first two opponents last year, pulling out an 87-84 win in overtime over the visiting Knights in the team's debut.

Cedarville already has two games in the books, defeating Ashland 74-65 in its opener before downing Ohio Dominican 85-82. Both contests were played at Ohio Dominican, as the Yellow Jackets play four games away from home to start the season. In the latter outing, the Yellow Jackets sank 27-of-34 free throws, including 23 of 27 in the second half, to outlast the Panthers.

Bellarmine will need to pay especially close attention to Cedarville's Raegan Ryan. The senior guard posted consecutive 23-point performances in the team's two games, shooting a blistering 10 of 14 from the field while draining all three of her 3-point attempts in her latest outing. Junior forward Kayla Linkous scored in double figures in both games as well, stroking all 13 of her free throw attempts against Ohio Dominican.

Bellarmine built a 45-37 lead over North Alabama after a strong first half on Saturday, but the Knights let a 12-point advantage in the second half slip away as they struggled from the floor after halftime (33.3 percent shooting) and committed 12 of their 17 turnovers. The Knights did, however, have four players score in double digits, led by the impressive collegiate debut of freshman forward Beth Bowers, who poured in a team-high 20 points.

Also making an impression in her debut for Bellarmine was sophomore guard Whitney Hartlage, a transfer who followed Bowers with 18 points behind a trio of 3-pointers. Junior guard Mackenzie Martinez had a splendid all-around game, racking up nine assists, five rebounds and three steals to complement 10 points, most of which came in the clutch and gave the Knights a chance at the end against the Lions. Sophomore guard Destony Curry chipped in 12 points for BU.

Cedarville (2-0) at Bellarmine (0-1)
Time: 7 p.m. (ET)
Location: Knights Hall
Live stats: Here
Video: Here
Radio: 94.7 FM